AOPA offers resources for airport managers

June 19, 2014

ByJim Moore

With 2,100 feet of turf, an on-field café, flight school, and scenic surroundings (about a mile from the Atlantic Ocean), Hampton Airfield (7B3) in North Hampton, N.H. has plenty of charm. Pilots can rent a J-3 Cub, earn a seaplane rating, and find any number of people with a common passion for flight in this community with a rich aviation history.

While AOPA’s services for pilots are generally well known, airport managers—particularly those who run privately owned airports—might not realize that the association also offers a wide range of resources valuable to them. AOPA has developed guides to promoting airports (and general aviation) in local communities, holding an airport open house, managing noise and land-use issues, regulatory compliance, infrastructure planning, and much more—all of which are available online at no cost.

AOPA also supports and encourages development of a strong and active airport community, including volunteer support through the Airport Support Network.

Collins said his visit to Hampton Airfield was just one example of his efforts throughout the year to meet face-to-face with pilots, airport staff, and others in the general aviation community, building relationships that help him stay on top of issues and developments across his 13-state territory.

“As regional managers, we are often able to be the go-between for the airports, local pilots, and AOPA Airport Support Network or other departments—a professional switchboard of sorts, able to disseminate information rapidly,” Collins explained. “This serves our members on many levels and especially when problems arise.”

Collins said there is no substitute for personal contacts, and the relationships that result.

Although Congress is about to break for its August recess, AOPA members should keep calling their elected officials and asking them to co-sponsor the Pilot's Bill of Rights 2 (PBR2), said AOPA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Jim Coon.

Mark Scheuer was tired of yelling at his wife across the noisy cockpit of their Grumman Yankee, and he thought there had to be a better way of communicating. PS Engineering Inc. was born out of that necessity and is now celebrating its third decade of forging new ground in cockpit communication technology.